Community Imperial: Review of Caesar in Gaul, campaigns for Total War: Rome II - Community Imperial. Caesar's Gallic War

(58...51 BC).

Transalpine Gaul (present-day France) was inhabited by Celtic tribes, of which the most powerful were the Arverni, Aedui and Sequani. Starting from the Ardennes Forest to the mouth of the Rhine, the Belgae, Treviri, Eburones and Nervii lived. Before Caesar, the Romans owned only the so-called Province, the area between the Alps and the Cevennes. Caesar extended Roman power throughout Gaul with a series of successful campaigns. He himself left a masterful description of these campaigns in his “Notes on the Gallic War.”

By the time of Caesar's arrival in Gaul, the Celtic tribe of the Helvetii, who lived between the Rhine and the Jura, decided to leave their mountainous country and look for new places of settlement in the more fertile regions of Gaul. They burned their cities and villages and moved towards Lake Lehmann (now Lake Geneva). But Caesar blocked their path, despite the fact that they promised not to cause any violence during the campaign through the Roman Province. They tried to force their way through the Rodan (Rhone), but were repulsed. Then the Helvetii headed north. The Sequani freely let them pass through their regions, and the Helvetii came into the possession of the Aedui. They began to devastate the areas of the Aedui, and they, as “friends of the Roman people,” turned to Caesar for help. Caesar defeated the Helvetii at the Battle of Bibract. The bloodshed was terrible: out of 368,000 people (the number in which the Helvetians set out on the campaign), only 110,000 remained. They were forced to return to their homeland and begin to rebuild their cities and villages.

The discord that arose between the Aedui and Sequani brought Caesar into hostile contact with the Germans. The Sequani called to their aid Ariovistus, the leader of a Germanic tribe. Caesar stood up for the Aedui, since the interests of Rome could not tolerate settlements near Roman territory of such warlike tribes as the Germans. At first, Caesar invited Ariovistus to move in with him in order to peacefully resolve controversial issues. But Ariovistus proudly replied: “If Caesar needs anything from me, let him come to me himself.” Caesar's second embassy demanded the surrender of the hostages that Ariovistus had taken from the Aedui, and a promise that he would not allow further German incursions into Gaul.

Gallic helmets

To this Ariovist objected that, by right of victory, he was accustomed to treating the vanquished in exactly the same way as the Romans treat the peoples they defeated: the Aedui are obliged to pay him tribute, and he does not intend to hand over hostages. When Caesar informed him in a threatening tone that he would intercede for the Aedui, Ariovistus replied that until now not a single enemy had ever entered into battle with him without being defeated himself. If Caesar wishes, he can come to him himself and then he will find out how the invincible Germans, who have not spent the night under a roof for 14 years, fight. Now Caesar had no time to waste, and he advanced to Bezontsion (Besançon).

During a stop for several days to put food in order, the Romans collected information about the enemy from the Gauls and merchants. Everyone talked about the gigantic growth of the Germans, their fabulous courage, their military experience; Often meeting with the Germans, they could not withstand their menacing expression. This information struck fear into the entire army; everyone was seized by feverish excitement. Fear first of all spread among the military tribunes, prefects and other persons who, not having sufficient knowledge of military affairs, followed Caesar only out of affection for him. They came to Caesar and, under various pretexts, urgently demanded their dismissal. The few remaining sat in their tents, bemoaning their fate and talking about the general danger. Wills were written throughout the camp. This manifestation of fear extended to the old soldiers, to the centurions and commanders of the cavalry. They, not wanting to be personally considered cowards, said that they were afraid not of the enemy, but of the difficult passages in the vast forests that separated the Romans from Ariovistus. Some argued to Caesar that the soldiers, out of fear, would disobey and not go forward as ordered.

War Council

Having learned about this, Caesar convened a general council of war, invited all the centurions to it and reprimanded them for considering it possible to discuss and criticize the goals and means of the campaign. He further said that he was firmly convinced that Ariovistus did not want to lose the favor of the Romans. But if Ariovistus, in the heat of blind passion, had started a war, then why should they be afraid? After all, this enemy was already well known to the Romans in the time of their fathers, when Mari defeated the Cimbri and Teutones. In conclusion, Caesar announced that even if no one followed him, he would still go on a campaign with one Tenth Legion, whose warriors would henceforth be his bodyguards.

With this speech, Caesar raised the spirit of his army - everyone was imbued with courage and military courage. The tenth legion, through its military tribunes, sent thanks to Caesar for having distinguished him.

Then the rest of the legions tried to justify themselves and assure that they had never shown either indecision or fear.

Before starting hostilities, Ariovistus proposed a date. Caesar agreed. But this meeting did not lead to anything, since Caesar did not express his consent to Ariovistus’s proposal to leave the northern part of Gaul to the Germans. In addition, the German horsemen treacherously attacked the Roman horsemen during this meeting, and negotiations were stopped forever. Ariovistus did not enter into a decisive battle, since it was predicted to him that battles should not be fought before the onset of the new moon. But Caesar, with his raids, so irritated the Germans that they angrily left the camp and entered the battle. Ariovistus was completely defeated and barely managed to save himself by sailing across the Rhine in a shuttle; he died soon after from his wounds.

Thus, Caesar made two important campaigns in one summer. He then placed his army in winter quarters near the Sequani. The command of the army was entrusted to the legate Labienus; Caesar himself went to Gaul on this side of the Alps to examine and resolve controversial cases. Here he received news from Labienus that the Belgae had formed a secret alliance against the Romans, since they feared that after the Romans had conquered the rest of Gaul, it would be their turn to be enslaved. Therefore, at the beginning of 57, Caesar set out on a campaign against the Belgae and conquered their tribes. Only the Nervii put up courageous resistance to the Romans. The Roman army found itself in great danger on the Sabis River. The Nervii set up an ambush here with thorns, which they knew how to weave with great skill, and furiously attacked the legions that had not had time to form into battle formation. Only thanks to Caesar's management, exemplary discipline and resourcefulness of the soldiers, the legions managed to escape defeat.

In 56, Caesar's legate, Publius Crassus, the son of the triumvir, conquered the western regions of Gaul. Caesar himself conquered the brave and experienced Veneti; The warlike Aquitani, who lived between the Garumna River and the Pyrenees and had the opportunity to field up to 50,000 warriors in the field, were also conquered - this was also done by the capable and successful Crassus. So by the end of the year the conquest of Gaul could be considered completed.

However, as long as the Germanic tribes occupied the banks of the Rhine and were ready to invade Gaul at the first favorable circumstances, the conquest of this country was fragile. Therefore, Caesar energetically suppressed the first attempt of the Germanic tribes to enter Gaul.

Pile bridge over the Rhine

They crossed the lower Rhine in the number of 430,000 people to help the Gauls throw off the Roman yoke. Caesar hurried there with his legions. The Germans entered into negotiations, but during these negotiations the German cavalry attacked the Roman cavalry. Caesar saw this as treachery. When the next day the elders of the German clans came to his camp to justify themselves in the attack, Caesar ordered their arrest. Then he attacked the unsuspecting enemy and inflicted complete defeat on him. Thousands of Germans fled and found their deaths in the waves of the Rhine. Caesar ordered the construction of a pile bridge and crossed to the other side of the Rhine. He made this transition not with the goal of waging a long war there, but in order to make the Germans fear Roman weapons and keep them from new invasions. After an 18-day stay on the right bank of the Rhine, he crossed this river back; Probably the reason for this was the news Caesar received about the complete uprising of the German Suebi tribe.

Vercingetorix

Even more dangerous and courageous was the campaign to Britain undertaken by Caesar in 55 with the aim of punishing the Britons who supported their tribal allies in Gaul and gave refuge to fugitives. But this trip was not entirely successful. The deep-sea ships of the Romans could not come close because of the shallow waters off the coast. The soldiers had to rush into the sea in full armor and swim to the shore under a hail of arrows. The enemy horsemen rushed towards them and carried out a terrible massacre. The Romans still managed to reach the shore, and Caesar entered into negotiations with the leaders of the Britons. He was content with the Britons' promise to give hostages and return to Gaul.

The second campaign in Britain, undertaken by Caesar in 54 in order to make amends for the previous failure, also did not have important consequences. The natives retreated before a huge army that arrived on the island on 800 ships and consisted of 5 legions and 2,000 horsemen. The brave leader of the Britons, Casivelavn, became the head of the army and was in charge of the defense. Realizing that the Romans would have an advantage over him in the open field, he began to wage guerrilla warfare and caused a lot of harm to the Romans. But Caesar managed to sow discord in the enemy army: he persuaded some districts to fall away from the common cause, and they entered into a private agreement with Caesar. Kasivelavn's power was significantly weakened, and after the conquest of his capital he was forced to agree to peace. Having received from him an obligation to give hostages and pay tribute, Caesar hastily returned to Gaul.

There was great unrest in Gaul at this time. They intensified even more when news was received of the far from brilliant progress of the British expedition. Hope for the return of freedom was revived again. The leader of the Celtic Arverni tribe, Vercingetorix, led the uprising. Like Sertorius in Lusitania, he carried on the people's war with extraordinary energy, cunning and determination; with his quick surprise attacks he caused a lot of harm to the Romans. However, in the end, the rebels were surrounded in the Alesia fortress and killed after a long hungry siege. Vercingetorix was captured and taken to Rome for Caesar's triumph. He was subsequently strangled in prison. The military associates of Vercingetoring took refuge in the mountain fortress of Uxellodun, but this fortress was also taken. To set a terrifying example, Caesar ordered the right hand of the brave defenders to be cut off. After this, instead of cruel severity, Caesar began to show meekness and condescension in order to reconcile the vanquished with their fate. Many Celts were granted Roman citizenship; many Caesar's soldiers received plots of land in Gaul. Soon the Latin language came into general use here, Roman silver and gold coins began to circulate freely; Roman law took the place of ancient regulations. Thus Gaul became a new colony of Rome.

A lot of time has passed since the game was released, but no less has passed since the release of the Caesar in Gaul campaign. Honestly, on the one hand, I love local campaigns. They allow you to feel more subtly the events of a particular era. I really liked the small campaigns in Napoleon, Medieval 2: Kingdoms. And Rome 2 currently offers a fairly diverse set of local campaigns, each of which is interesting in its own way. At the same time, I never had the opportunity to either play them out to the end or start them at all. A similar thing happened to Caesar in Gaul. I remember once I started the game as the Suebi, but after conquering a fairly large number of tribes, I abandoned the campaign. There were other things to do. Now that the big campaign has been played out many times, I want to try something new. And I decided to look at Caesar in Gaul again, to give him one more chance.

Naturally, he began the campaign for the Romans, expecting to repeat the glorious exploits of Gaius Julius from the Notes. At first everything went pretty smoothly. The Allobroges and Aedui are quite friendly towards Rome. Vocontia is actually a protectorate of Rome. The war with the Helvetii is also not particularly difficult.

In the course of the Notes, I had to continue to fight with the Suebi, and in the future with the Nervii. But it so happened in the game world that the Vibiskis declared war on me, and Martius, not wanting to surrender Narbo, had to redirect Caesar’s combat-ready army to the west. Caesar's iron legions dealt with the local tribes without any problems. It is worth noting that this formula applies to other tribes as well. As a rule, all Gauls have mostly peasant recruits in their army, a few light horsemen and 1-2 strong strong units. While the Roman army is the strongest in this campaign. The basic infantry of legionnaires fights on equal terms with the best Gallic swordsmen (what can we say about weaker units). In addition, the Romans had access to local Gallic troops and artillery. Therefore, dealing with the Celts should not present any particular problems for Caesar.

However, an equally important aspect in this campaign is diplomacy. After all, it was thanks to her that Caesar achieved most of his initial victories. At first, maintaining relationships with neighbors is not particularly difficult. But as Rome’s territories increase, the level of expansionism also increases, which has an extremely negative impact on relations with its neighbors. Each turn I sent cash gifts to existing allies and protectorates with the intention of maintaining friendly relations. But with each move it became more and more difficult. Moreover, the ensuing war with the Suebi and Nervii burdened Caesar's treasury, so gifts ceased to be regular.

At some point, the level of expansion reaches a critical point and an uprising of already conquered Gallic tribes occurs in all cities. Considering that at the same moment a very powerful state of the Arverni was emerging nearby, and their allies were joining the enemies, Caesar’s position became extremely unenviable. After a few moves, even the most loyal allies, including protectorates, betray.

Cities are burning from uprisings, there is a catastrophic lack of forces, and there is no money to recruit new armies. As a result, Caesar is left without troops (and those that exist desperately hold on to the existing territories), without allies, surrounded by extremely hostile tribes, diplomatic relations with which are now impossible.

Gaius Julius Caesar was left with no choice but to press ESC, “save game” and “exit to main menu”, hoping that in the future he would be able to overcome these problems.

Summing up the results of the Roman campaign, I note that everything is practically happening as it was historically. The campaign turns out to be quite complex and intense (especially considering that at some point you will have to fight with everyone at once). However, the uprising of the conquered Gauls is not a terrible threat compared to the other unconquered Gauls, of which there are a lot. I admit that my biggest mistake was getting distracted by Vibiscus. Firstly, I spent 4 turns moving Caesar's legion. Secondly, during the conquests an empire grew, which worsened relations with my neighbors almost instantly. I will also note that diplomacy is very difficult to conduct. Yes. This is hard. But it is necessary to actively monitor who is fighting with whom and not allow one side or another to gain strength. Divide et impera! Thus, fighting should become easier. Being an ally of the Aedui and not restraining them in any way, I allowed them to expand, which later, during the war with them, cost me very dearly.

But I decided not to give up just like that and therefore tried a campaign for Caesar’s rivals - the Arverni. At first, the campaign seems quite simple. War with neighbors, as a rule, is not particularly difficult, especially after the Arverni have noble swordsmen and even ordinary spearmen. But the Arverni, by and large, don’t need to fight. Their faction bonus, as well as various diplomatic technologies, allow them to improve their relations with their neighbors. After the first faction joins your confederation (and this will happen very soon), a chain reaction will begin. Many small tribes will want to become members of the confederation, and large ones will want to become allies. At this point it is very important to gather a large army.

Because having reached the maximum imperium, we receive news that the Romans are starting an offensive. After a few moves, I declared war on the Quirites, because this confrontation is the main essence of the game. And imagine my unpleasant surprise when numerous legions and enemy agents began to arrive from the direction of Lugdun Gaul. I counted 13 legions, the composition of which was such that they could immediately destroy me.

On the very first turn, my army, which was garrisoning the settlement, was attacked by the Romans, having significantly damaged it with agents a moment before. The first battle was won and the Roman legion was destroyed. But subsequently 3 others arrived, and the result of the next collision was obvious. Even 1v1 the Roman stack represented a serious force, and it was possible to defeat it in a fair fight only with very large losses (if the outcome of the battle was victory at all). So, in the first moves I lost 2 armies. There were still 3 left in stock. I was ready to do exactly the same as in the case of Caesar's campaign.

The next day I thought, I’ll take another look at the balance of power in the campaign. Having estimated that the Romans, even if they advance, will not soon capture all my lands, I will have enough time to give the Quirites a “worthy reception.” I remembered the methods of war of Vercingetorix himself against the Romans. He never engaged in open battle with the Romans, preferring to hide his main forces in oppidiums and organize guerrilla attacks on the Romans. This was the only way to defeat the Romans. As agents, I carried out various acts of sabotage in the Roman legions, and put the existing armies in the “ambush” mode (I admit, this was the first time I tried this mode), which made my armies invisible and allowed me to ambush enemies. I managed to destroy several legions of Romans in this way. At the same time, new resistance armies were recruited in Nemessa and Alesia. By the time of the war, the Nervii and other large tribes had come to my side. But I also tried to persuade with money those tribes that were neutral towards Rome. Thus, I managed to persuade the Allobroges and Vangiones. But to my regret, Caesar was able to destroy them on the same turn (!) when they joined my coalition. As Caesar resisted, he also captured Bibracta and some other settlements. During such “suicidal” battles, I tried to destroy first of all the Roman artillery, which brought the most trouble.

In the south, a lone army of Vercassivelaunus operated in Narbonensis, liberating those tribes that had been conquered by the Romans. In the future, I had to deprive the Romans of a strategic base in the south.

Over time, the Roman offensive faded, ambushes and the actions of agents did their job. When any Roman army moved away from the main forces, my forces attacked it. However, the Roman army acted very wisely, trying not to move away from each other. It was obvious that I would not attack 5-6 legions (even battered ones). Moreover, my forces were scattered.

But soon the entire south was freed from the power of Rome. The allies gradually sent their armies, which hindered the advance of the Romans. The Nervii recaptured Bibracta from the Romans, granting independence to the Aedui, who hastened to join my confederation. At the end of autumn, the Romans were either defeated or their few forces were driven back to Helvetica. The original plan was to wait until winter to allow the Romans to suffer non-combat losses. But fortunately for the Gauls, the situation turned out much better.
In several major battles, Vercingetorix managed to personally defeat the Romans with very heavy losses (which once again emphasized that fighting head-on with the Romans was extremely unwise), but he was soon wounded by the actions of the agents.

The Romans were left without legions. At least the forces they had were active in Germany against the Nervii and Suebi. The path to Italy was open. Having subjugated Massalia, the united Gauls swept through Liguria and Insubria like an avalanche. The goals of the Gauls were achieved. Victory!

Summarizing the results of the Arverni campaign, I can say that, based on a combination of factors, it was much simpler. The only difficulty was the Roman offensive, which could not be dealt with in a couple of moves. It made me sweat quite a bit and use my brain. But the main plus is that it turned out to be a fairly believable and realistic roleplay for Vercingetorix. The Gallic campaign itself is gameplay-wise the complete opposite of Caesar's campaign. That's good. The Suebian campaign, oddly enough, is also quite different from the other 2. I can’t say anything definite about the Nervii.

In general, the campaign, in my opinion, is worth both the player’s time (because it forces you to think a lot, and due to the great detail of the map and some of the capabilities of the campaign itself, you need to think very carefully, and also due to more or less correspondence with the story), and his money ( the price of the DLC is quite small + in addition to the new campaign, we also get 3 factions for the main campaign). Overall my rating is 4.3 out of 5.

Start of the Campaign

At the beginning of the campaign, I already realized that I urgently needed to destroy Helvetov.
I'm sending it there. Along the way we defeat the army Helvetov into the trash and on the 3rd move I take the settlement.
The fourth move is the last one for Helvetov.
As soon as I destroyed them, they immediately began to fear me Tulings.
Here's a turn... An ally was attacked by my ally... Hmmm.....
Massalia (defensive alliance, aggressor)- Vokontii (protectorate, protector)
Well, I had to stand up for my ally and declare war on Massalia. Having quickly killed their general, we began the attack.

Actions in North-South Gaul

Volks and Rutens

These military allies haunted me from the very beginning. All the time I was afraid of attack from them. But the worries were in vain. I had to do everything myself :D.
I immediately went on the attack as soon as I gathered a large enough army.
Oh, and the battles were difficult, contagious....
Well, what should we do? Agents are already working at full capacity, and so are the armies. All that remains is to monitor everything that is happening. In general, as soon as Gaius Julius Caesar arrived, I immediately launched a massive attack from all sides.
Preservation:
What's my tactic?

1. Getting ready to attack
2. I sweep through cities like lightning, capturing them
3. When a nation is deprived of cities, I kill commanders with the help of agents (even wounding will mean their disappearance)

West and North-West Gaul

Well, the end of the campaign is approaching.

West

There were both easy and difficult battles. In general terms, it was fun. The “quick war” did not lead to particularly large losses, and the help of an ally turned out to be very valuable (one of the few cases where the allies actually helped).

Northwest

Actions in North-West Gaul were suspended due to bad weather (to be more precise - winter, snow).
I couldn’t send my troops to attack, knowing that half would freeze in the snow... I had to wait.
As soon as spring came, I began to attack.
With swift attacks, Julius Caesar simply swept away everyone in his path... No one could do anything to him... No matter how hard they tried)
Preservation:

Are the Gauls rebelling?

After the end of the campaign, a fun event began. Many Gallic tribes rebelled... sooo many:DD.
But, in principle, this did not cause any problems for me. At least it was fun).
Who also wants to take part in this war - download the save and skip the turn.

Thanks for viewing this guide.

Suggest your ideas for walkthroughs in the comments, I will try to do it.
Write like this:

1. Fraction
2. Campaign name ("Great Campaign", "Hannibal at the Gates", "Wrath of Sparta", "Caesar in Gaul", "Emperor Augustus")
3. A goal that I will have to fulfill (reach a certain point, war against everyone and the like)

Thank you all very much, if you find any errors, please write in the comments.
I hope the guide helps you
Rate, write and add as friends
Thanks again everyone.
Kuzya tried for you: D

If you want to thank me for your work:
Thank you!)

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Mod Collection:

After the liberation of Avarik (from the indigenous inhabitants) for five moves, we are engaged in construction, recruitment and technology development. Technologies from blue branches are learned quickly, in one or two turns, the effects from them are useful, so I would lean on them first. Red branches are also important, and probably even more important, since they provide new troops and buildings, but take longer to study.
Meanwhile, Segovax's second army is formed. Recruitment, as before, is possible in three units per turn per province. In June 58, both armies advance to the borders of the city of Durotincon, which is due west of our first city of Nemessa. It is the third and last city of the province of Gergovia. So we urgently need it to round up our holdings. In August, two armies (20 plus 12 detachments) launch an assault and take the town. And immediately we carry out the edict of “Bread and Circuses” in the province of Gergovia. Maybe this sounds too Roman, well then let’s rename it “Elya and the Girls.” In any case, this gives us an increase in law and order and food.
Order is still what significantly restrains rushing, that is, rapid expansion. Immediately after the capture of a settlement, order in the entire province drops by twenty-odd units, and there is a daily fine, albeit decreasing over time. For example, on the tenth turn in Gergovia, when two armies are garrisoned in cities, with an edict and unraveled taxes, we have about -69, but the annual increase is +9. But if we withdraw the armies, we fall into almost -10 per turn. That is, without garrisons, the uprising will begin in three turns. You have to sit in the cities, consume ale and girls.
It’s for the best - in October winter came in Gaul. Troops in the field suffer non-combat losses. You can't fight in winter. You can read about this from Napoleon. By the way, he is also from our Gaul. What do the Gauls do on long winter evenings? We understand everything about girls and ale, but what else? They also build stables, called levadas in this case, and bronze workshops. The former are needed for hiring cavalry, the latter for forming units of swordsmen.
This choice of priorities is determined by the presence of a large number of light spearmen and riflemen in the ranks of the AI ​​armies. Our swordsmen will be against the spearmen, and our cavalry will be against the archers. Moreover, the AI’s lack of its own cavalry units also determined our tactics. To put it simply, swordsmen tie up the enemy from the front, riflemen knock out strong units, and cavalry enters the flank and rear of the enemy army. This recipe almost always wins.

SPRING. HORMONES BURNING
The conquest of the province of Pictavia, also consisting of three cities, subject to three different tribes, is scheduled for the next 57 year. Well, the Romans were right - divide and conquer. By spring, the Arverns already had three armies. In each we tried to include light cavalry and swordsmen, a detachment of three slingers, three or four javelin throwers, half swordsmen and spearmen. I don’t really go into details: what kind of spearmen, what kind of javelin throwers. Everything is simple here - the higher the characteristics, the better. We will later include weak but massive units in garrison armies.
In February 57, on the 22nd move, there was a rapid attack by two stacks - Vercingetorix and Segovax - on the city of the Santon tribe, Mediolan Santonsky. It's west of us on the Atlantic coast. 4 thousand Arverni against 3.5 thousand Santons. Result: with the loss of half a thousand soldiers, we capture the 4th settlement. The annual income of the treasury with three armies under arms... that is, under a spear passes for two thousand Gallic money.
Four turns to replenish troops and restore order in the new area, and we are ready to move on. And then we have a second settlement in Pictavia - the capital of the province of Lemonum, the Picton tribe. Just like in the main campaign, only provincial capitals are surrounded by walls. Therefore, it was decided not to waste time on storming Lemonum, but to lay siege and wait for a sortie. The Pictons sat out for two turns, but when they ran out of ale and the girls, they rushed to recapture our property in the siege camp. Apparently, the main thing is to motivate the fighters. The onslaught of the hungry Pictons was so terrible that despite a significant numerical superiority (3.5 thousand versus 2.5 thousand), we lost over nine hundred soldiers in the battle. The more ale was left for the survivors... the girls.
Thus, on the 29th turn (June 57), the Arverns already had 5 cities, 10.5 thousand in the treasury and an annual income of up to three thousand. We considered it unwise to rush immediately to the third city of Pictavia due to the fact that law and order would fall lower than in a brothel. The troops retreated to summer quarters, which smoothly flowed into winter quarters. The fourth army has been formed.

By winter, an unexpected problem arose - there was nowhere to put the money. We built everything that could be built, so the treasury began to shamelessly swell, reaching 22-23 thousand. Not even four stacks of brave Arvernian drinkers could drink away such money. Having heard about the always drunk and unpredictable Gauls, in September 57, Julius Caesar offered them a non-aggression pact. Having muttered something like “we know your Ribbentrops,” the leader in my person gave his consent.
According to our old tradition, after concluding a non-aggression pact, it is necessary to attack someone. In the spring of 56, the Arverni attack the third city of the province of Pictavia, Ambathia, the Turon tribe. Again, the two most titled and pumped stacks - Vercingetorix and Segovax - distinguished themselves. In general, these animals had already reached such a level of skill and balanced composition that they beat other Gauls like the Chinese bird flu. On the 45th turn (February 56th) the Arverni had six settlements and two full provinces.
By the way, an unpleasant episode is connected with this spring. As it turned out, we conquered the Turons too quickly, missing their stack hidden in the bushes. We don’t know what the Turons were doing with a whole stack of them in the bushes; we didn’t go to check - the smell from the bushes was too strong. But this stack jumped out of its stinking shelter and ran straight towards our Avarik. Apparently, hoping that we had already built full-fledged cesspools there. The best commander of the Gauls, Vercingetorix, had to pick out the stinkers from Avaric. It was only on the 47th move that the restless Turons were dealt with. In memory of them, only those very bushes near Ambatiya remained.

DOUBLE GDP AND EMPIRES
To double your living space, we have several directions. South. But the tribes there are at war with the Romans. Let us not complicate their life or, accordingly, make it easier for the Romans. We'll go north. More precisely, to the northwest, to the Brittany peninsula, the province of Armorica. The first city on our way is Namnet - a single-province tribe. Nevertheless, it is the capital of the province, that is, a settlement with walls. Vercingetorix besieged it in May 56, waited for a sortie in September and captured the city. We immediately begin to form a fleet here. There is no one in particular to fight with at sea. Block too. The role of this fleet is simple: it must act as a garrison and maintain order.
Behind Namnet, the first worthy enemy has finally opened up - the Osism tribe with four settlements, three of which belong to Armiorica. Fourth - Lutetia (Paris). You and I know that Paris is taken by blitzkrieg. In January 1955 I moved a fleet and three armies to the border areas. What followed was a classic blitzkrieg. Late January - the armies of Vercingetorix and Adcoro storm the settlements of Dariorit and Kondat. The Third Army covers the rear from surprise attacks by the enemy. The attacks followed in early February. Two Osism armies are defeated. At the end of February they launch a desperate assault on coastal Dariorite. Recaptured by naval forces. In March there followed an assault on the last settlement of Armorica, Vorgion. After that, our empire grew considerably, and our hair became fluffy and silky... that is, ugh, I wanted to say: we have 10 settlements in three provinces.
Blitzkrieg in Total War: Rome II is known to have a negative side. In Armorica, public order fell sharply. We had to urgently recruit two dummy armies from bad soldiers, whose task is not war, but sitting in cities, in taverns and other hard service. At the same time, the fifth full-fledged field army is being formed.

However, GDP has not yet been doubled, and pride has not been stroked. We transfer the two best field armies (Vercingetorix and Adcoro) east to the borders of the Suebi tribe. The best - in the sense of the most pumped up troops, the most advanced commanders, plus the already good personal properties of the armies. This is our guard. Or, if you prefer, the equivalent of breakthrough shock armies. In the meantime, we studied such a technology useful for war as Strategic Maneuvers. This gives a plus of 15% to movement on the map.
What are Suebi? The Suebi are at least five settlements on our eastern border. What should be done with them? Change their owner. Five settlements, and even our border ones, are already a vast theater of war. Two field armies are not enough to intercept all the enemies (and they have already developed by this time). We are moving three armies to the border. At the end of August 55, a powerful and, as always, sneaky blow follows. Keltill's army (all fighters already with golden stripes) storms Vienna (not the one on the Danube), and Adkoro besieged Bibracta, which has walls. Vercingetorix patrols the area between Bibracta and the rest of Suebia. In September, he intercepts the Suebi rushing to the rescue of Bibracta. Victory. Next is the assault on Bibracta. And the province of Lugdunian Gaul is all ours! At the end of October, the Suebi army attacks Bibracta. Quite an idiotic idea, I must say: their losses were 2141, ours 158. After that, they agreed to peace.
It is here, in Lugdunian Gaul, that we finally get a common border with the Romans and begin to wait for our Julius Caesar to visit. What about our assets now? 12 settlements, 8 armies (6 field and 2 occupation), 1 fleet = 11.5 thousand money in the treasury and 2.1 thousand annual income. In principle, it’s normal, but it’s not enough to repel the Romans. However, the situation regarding money has improved dramatically. It was at this time that many tasks were ripe for completion, and money literally filled our treasury, almost burying the treasurer in it. The total amount jumped to 50 thousand.

ROME IS COMING...
The war with the Romans began in the spring of 54, on the 97th turn. Since January of this year, we turned to the conquest of the south - Aquitaine. The fact is that the Romans were actively advancing there. We need to take away as much land as possible from under their noses. Here in January we manage to capture Burdigala and end up in Rome!
The Arverns attack first. The army of Vercingetorix bursts into the streets of the town of Sotia and completely cuts down the VI Legion of Rome. True, the legion turned out to be so-so - half of it was Gaul mercenaries and only 1000 people. Vercingetorix had 2 thousand and still suffered significant losses - almost 700 people. It is difficult to fight the Romans, even those who are not very real. You can only win by maneuver, using the advantage in cavalry. It is very unpleasant to stand under fire from their artillery, so I usually maneuver in such a way as to drag the enemy away from her, run a cavalry detachment to the rear and knock out all the servants.
With the outbreak of the Roman War, those tribes that were already at war with Rome began to join our Confederation. Just "Forward to Washington!" some kind. Here in the south, in addition to the VI legion, three more are concentrated - I, II and III. By the way, it’s very nice to keep track of the numbers of the legions, track their movements and count how many have already been exterminated.
In April 54, the II Legion entered our province of Gergovia. The most interesting episode of the war is connected with this invasion - practically the battle in the Teutoburg Forest. Keltill's army was able to set up an ambush. The screaming Gauls rushed from the bushes at the extended column of the Romans (13 units in a stack). The main striking force is two detachments of heavy cavalry and another pair of light cavalry. The infantry tried to keep their distance and pelt the enemy with darts. Unless I dared to bring the swordsmen together with the legionnaires in order to delay them until the horsemen arrived. The Gauls lost 148 people, the II Legion (1277 fighters) was completely destroyed. That is, the Romans can be caught in ambushes without much bloodshed on our part.
In the same move, we tried a frontal attack on the elite 1st Legion. Elite in the sense that it did not include barbarian mercenaries - solid citizens of Rome. I only dared to defeat such an army when I had more than a two-fold superiority in numbers: 4300 versus 1950. To do this, I brought out two armies at once, including the army of Vercingetorix’s veterans. Of course, we completely killed the First Legion. But our losses are off the charts - 1386 people, almost equal to the total number of the Roman legion. Of course these legionnaires are beasts.
Nevertheless. The result of the destruction of three legions was the capture in May of two Roman settlements in Narbonne Gaul - Segodun and Tolosa. If we add Elimberris captured from the other Gauls, then the total number of regions under the rule of the Arverni on the 99th turn will be 18. And the maximum empires. To be honest, at this moment I became a little insolent. Of the Romans, only the III Legion of half strength was hiding somewhere in the vicinity of Divo. Victory in the campaign looked more than real. Hehe, you should know the scripts so as not to make the gods laugh with your plans. On the hundredth move, a video about the Roman advance appeared, and in the vicinity of Genoa we were shown such a number of full-stack legions that the Druids had not yet come up with such a number in Gaul. The mood dropped sharply.
At moves 100-101, we rushed to concentrate all our forces in the legion-dangerous direction, and at the same time clear the rear of the fifth, sixth and subsequent columns. Two more towns in Narbonne Gaul were captured, the province was completely conquered. The departing III Legion was ambushed and completely destroyed.

...The Gauls are escaping
Subsequent events from June to December 54 can be described either very long and confusingly, or very briefly and clearly. I choose the second path. Overall, the legions advanced gradually, tightening a pincer around the Arverni border cities. At the same time, the Romans walked in packs of at least three legions in a group. If a person played them, he would crush the Gauls in a few moves, but the ways of AI are inscrutable. He kept advancing, and I shuddered. Then he retreated and disappeared in the fog of war, and I was released.
Several times I caught individual legions straying from the herd. This is how the VIII, XII and XIV legions perished. Winter came, and some stupid Romans began to suffer non-combat losses. There was hope to pull off what the Russians did to our fellow countryman Napoleon. And then Massilia, which the Gauls did not get around to reaching at one time, shot.
The treacherous Greeks struck us in the rear with about three or four stacks of strong hoplites. This breakthrough against the backdrop of a dozen stacks of Romans looming in front of the front crushed my will to achieve a well-deserved defeat. I trembled and ran from behind the computer.

Julius Caesar, mustachioed barbarians in striped pants, a historically accurate map of Gaul and one of the most famous military campaigns of Ancient Rome in a magnificent add-on for Rome 2

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Rome 2 itself turned out to be completely different from the previous parts of the series. It has become much more complex, much more serious and an order of magnitude more beautiful. At the same time, the project turned out to be damn crude. However, even then we saw in the game one of the best strategies of our time, giving it a fairly high rating, taking into account the fact that bugs would be fixed and performance would be improved. And we were not mistaken. Numerous patches significantly corrected most of the problems of Rome 2, after which the second “Rome” finally secured the title of the best strategy of 2013. And now the game has finally received its first large-scale addition, called “Caesar in Gaul.” That's what we'll talk about today.

Creative Assembly already tried to pull off a similar trick once. Then, back in the days of the first “Rome”, an addition appeared that made it possible to follow the path of Alexander the Great. At that time it turned out rather mediocre, so such “historically accurate” DLCs were abandoned for a long time - right up to “Napoleon”. Now they have returned to this concept again to tell the story of the famous war of the great Julius Caesar - the most famous person in the history of Ancient Rome and one of the most popular historical figures in general. This time everything turned out completely differently.

Don't be skeptical at the rather modest price of 299 (Steam) rubles: the addon is really well designed and has a decent size. It took the author of these lines about 60 hours to completely complete the added campaign... But this was only one of the presented factions and only the normal difficulty of the game. Moreover: simultaneously with the addition, a major patch was released that significantly increased performance, which further enhances the impression of the work done (although, as for patches, yes, such a game should have been released immediately).

At first glance, the campaign looks quite compact: it lasts only seven years and covers only the territory of Gaul itself, a small piece of Britain and the Roman Province itself. Don't be fooled: this campaign is in no way inferior to the classic one in terms of volume. Gaul is presented in such detail that an impressive number of both large cities and towns fit here, and crossing it from one end to the other will take more than a dozen moves.

It's even more interesting with the time gap. Every year here lasts as many as 24 turns. This means that the seasons and all sorts of unseasonal conditions have returned to the game. It’s not entirely clear why spring here begins in January, autumn in July, and winter in September. Be that as it may, everything is designed really impressively. Seasons have a significant impact on gameplay. Thus, a hot, dry summer can seriously affect the harvest, and an early winter can seriously confuse offensive plans. In general, winter here is an extremely unpleasant thing. Even a short winter transition can result in significant losses for the army. That is why, when the cold weather sets in, like a real Caesar, you try to quickly complete your business and place your armies in winter quarters. Thanks to all this, the seasons actually affect the gameplay and policies.

Moreover, now everything is very beautifully decorated. The global map, which already looked simply gorgeous, has become even more beautiful. You can spend a very long time watching small Gallic settlements and touching watermills. In summer, a haze of heat can be seen above the ground, in winter it can snow lightly, in spring it rains and thunderstorms rage, and in autumn, when the entire map turns yellow, falling leaves are visible in the forests. Looking at these cozy landscapes, I can’t even believe that this is a rather hardcore strategy that is not particularly friendly to beginners. By the way, the tactical map also reflects the seasons, although this is not so noticeable.

The basis for the campaign was obviously Caesar's seven-year campaign in Gaul. He is the key figure here, so the narration and description of technology is conducted on his behalf. By clicking on the city of a certain tribe, we will receive comments from the commander about it. Interestingly, the addition is simply replete with quotes from his “Notes on the Gallic War,” which, obviously, served as the main source of inspiration for the developers. Since the text itself is very entertaining, we recommend reading it in parallel with the campaign. In this case, the already exciting campaign will become much clearer and brighter. It is very interesting that the political situation in the game and side quests no, no, and they push us towards the very decisions that Caesar himself and the famous leaders of the barbarian tribes made. Although, of course, no one is forcing you to conduct a campaign this way. There is more than enough freedom here.

In addition to Rome itself and Caesar, three more barbarian factions are available here. Firstly, these are, of course, the Arverni led by Vercingetorix, who, let us recall, managed to unite almost all of Gaul to fight Roman power. Secondly, the Suebi are fierce Germans who came to Gaul from across the Rhine in order to expand their possessions in the west. And, finally, thirdly, the Nervii - the Belgas, who could not be taken under control in the original game. These are a kind of Spartans from the barbarians, known for their ferocity and asceticism.

Playing as the local tribes is very different from what the Romans will face. In the first case, we will be actively pressed by neighbors who do not want to share power with anyone, and at a certain moment Rome will send such forces to storm our fortifications that it will definitely not seem like much. If we decide to repeat the victorious campaign of Julius Caesar, then other dangers await us. The constant rejection of Roman culture prompts the Gauls to attack from literally all sides, be extremely reluctant to engage in any diplomatic relations, and constantly try to capture or burn any village with superior forces. In general, the Romans almost always fight in the minority, but the training and perseverance of the legionnaires sometimes help win even the most hopeless battles at first glance. For example, just a couple of cohorts of heavy infantry are capable of holding the city gates from a whole crowd of barbarians.

Towards the middle of the campaign, diplomacy finally ends: a full-scale war begins. The analogue of civil wars here is the widespread uprisings of barbarians. While restoring control over territories somewhere at the front will not be so difficult, uprisings deep in the rear can create a lot of problems for the commander. Moreover, at this moment all the remaining barbarian states will forget their past feuds and unite, starting to attack Roman territories from all sides. It’s quite difficult to survive this: sometimes it even gets to the point where the same settlement is stormed 5-6 times during one enemy turn. After such a three-hour marathon, you feel much like the army itself, stationed in an unfortunate city - defeated and damn tired.

In general, like the original game, “Caesar in Gaul” is completely unforgiving of mistakes and forces you to constantly keep a huge number of variables in your head. Captured slaves in two settlements in a row? Get homegrown Spartak in the heart of the Province. Forgot to build a temple of Jupiter in yet another wilderness? The population will begin to riot after just a couple of turns. Are you passionate about wealth accumulation? Get food shortages. Hired an additional army to protect the expanding borders? Welcome to the era of economic crisis. The game requires maximum concentration and attentiveness. That's what Rome 2 is all about, so don't be surprised if after a couple of evenings spent in Gaul you feel like a squeezed lemon.

Among other features of the addition, it is worth noting the political system, in which at least your own general will not act against you, as happened with Caesar and his best legate Labienus. The development branches here are also quite specific. With the help of political improvements, you can, for example, call on Mark Antony for help and pay for bribing politicians in the Senate. The DLC also adds a decent number of units, both barbarian and Roman (including several types of auxiliary troops and mercenaries). Some things have been added to the main campaign. For example, with the addition it became possible to lead the Boii and Galatian tribes. Caesar in Gaul is also a great opportunity to try out a two-player co-op campaign. Due to its more compact size, it will be much more convenient to interact here than on the usual global map.

The icing on the cake is a new historical battle - the Battle of Alesia. It can safely be called the culmination of Caesar's entire Gallic campaign and his confrontation with Vercingetorix. Then the commander besieged the city of Alesia, in which the Gaul took refuge with his army, but soon reinforcements came to the Arverni in the form of a huge number of barbarians sympathizing with the uprising. Caesar had to withstand the onslaught of the Gauls from both sides, and while they were able to replace tired soldiers with fresh ones, the Romans, due to the impressive perimeter of the fortifications, could only rely on a limited number of soldiers. The Roman army had a VERY hard time that day. It will be just as hard for you when you try to win this historical battle. There are a lot of enemies here, and sometimes you get the feeling that the hordes of barbarians advancing from all sides will never end. They will have to be opposed only by the rich experience of the Romans and the ability to quickly make the right tactical decisions.

Caesar in Gaul is an exemplary addition to an excellent game. There is a new global map with changing seasons, a reliable historical campaign, commanders Julius Caesar and Vercingetorix, as well as a lot of related content such as new units and factions. It is strictly recommended for all fans of Total War, the history of Ancient Rome, and strategy games in general.